Vietnam Daily News

Asia shares come off lows after string of losses

Written by Dailynews.vn Wednesday, 14 December 2011 20:16

Asian markets pared early losses and flirted with gains in a choppy trading session Wednesday on expectation that the recent sell-down in the region had been overdone. "The markets have already factored in a lot of negative news... But I don't think the rebound will be very strong, because of the lack of liquidity in the market," said Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at KGI Asia. "The turnover is quite low and investors remain quite cautious... and there is continued repatriation of funds back to European countries," he said. Chinese and Hong Kong stocks briefly returned to positive territory after opening lower. The Shanghai Composite CN:000001 -0.30 percent was down 0.2 percent, finding some support after dropping in the past four trading days, while the Hang Seng Index HK:HSI -0.21 percent also slipped 0.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average JP:NIK -0.56 percent declined 0.6 percent at the end of the morning trading session. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index AU:XJO +0.16 percent and Taiwan's Taiex were little changed, while South Korea's Kospi KR:0100 -0.39 percent fell 0.1 percent. Financials were mixed in Hong Kong, with shares of AIA Group Ltd AAGIY -1.25 percent HK:1299 +1.28 percent and Bank of China Ltd HK:3988 +0.71 percent BACHY -0.56 percent each rising 1.1 percent to counter a 1.4 percent decline in HSBC Holdings PLC. HK:5 -1.51 percent HBC +1.18 percent In Shanghai, some beaten-down real-estate and power stocks joined financial stocks to bounce higher. China Life Insurance Co. LFC -0.46 percent CN:601628 +0.78 percent gained 1.2 percent and Gemdale Corp. CN:600383 -0.22 percent gained 0.7 percent, while Datang International Power Generation Co. CN:601991 +2.89 percent DIPGY -3.36 percent added 2.9 percent. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ANZBY -1.53 percent AU:ANZ +1.45 percent added 1.2 percent and Bluescope Steel Ltd AU:BSL +3.53 percent BLSFY -35.40 percent rose 4 percent in Sydney, Shinhan Financial Group Co. SHG +0.92 percent rose 1 percent and SK Telecom Co. SKM +0.73 percent gained 2 percent in Seoul and Inotera Memories Inc. jumped 6.8 percent in Taipei. Asian markets had opened on a weak note Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve belied hopes it would signal another round of asset purchases, resulting in a decline for stocks on Wall Street. Read more on US stock markets. Weaker-than-expected US retail sales also dampened sentiment, while Europe's debt troubles and the potential impact on global economic growth are an ongoing concern for investors. In Japan, a firm yen and weak commodity prices kept exporters and resource sector shares under pressure. Trading lower in Tokyo, steelmaker JFE Holdings Inc. JP:5411 -1.87 percent JFEEF +8.17 percent fell 1.9 percent, while Nippon Steel Corp. NISTY -1.56 percent JP:5401 -1.03 percent shares were down 1 percent. Automakers were also weak, with Honda Motor Co. JP:7267 -2.43 percent HMC +1.19 percent down 2.4 percent and Mazda Motor Corp. JP:7261 -0.70 percent MZDAF +3.37 percent losing 0.7 percent. Heavyweight mining shares were also weak in Sydney. Copper futures were down 2 cents at $3.42 a pound in electronic trading, while gold futures fell $25.20 an ounce to $1,637.90. Against the backdrop, mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd AU:BHP -0.34 percent BHP +0.07 percent slipped 0.3 percent and Eldorado Gold Corp. AU:EAU -0.26 percent EGO +0.58 percent declined 1.3 percent. -By V. Phani Kumar and Sarah Turner

Source: www.intellasia.net/news/articles/stock_market/111350791.shtml